2011 SAE Show

Perennial Pageant of the Pocket-Protected

FEV High Efficiency Diesel Combustion SystemFEV proposes to trade the major expense of selective catalytic urea-based reduction emissions control on the next generation of diesels for more sophisticated valvetrain, using its High Efficiency Combustion System (HECS). The idea is pretty simple: a VTEC-like variable valve-lift strategy is used on the intake cam that switches from 4.8 to 8 mm lift--the valves follow their own lower lift cams until each is joined to a single rocker follower that bumps lift to 8 mm. Eccentric valve-seat chamfering works like shrouding to induce high degrees of swirl under certain conditions. The exhaust valve timing is also phased to promote quicker catalyst light-off. The combined effect is a 17-percent improvement in fuel consumption and Euro-6 emissions compliance without SCR. Prototypes are on the road and volume production is promised soon.

FEV 7-Speed Hybrid TransaxleFEV showed off an extreme-downsized 0.7-liter 3-cylinder engine at last year's show , and this year they mated it to a three-shaft planetary automatic transaxle with an electric motor standing in for the torque converter. The setup provides four electric-drive gear ratios or seven when using the engine, and the electric motor can provide 27 continuous or 51 peak horsepower. It's very compact, and when paired with the EDE engine it returns 25 percent better fuel economy than a 1.4-liter engine and transmission of equivalent performance, 16 percent of which is attributable to the engine, and the remaining 9 percent to the transmission.Tenneco Ethanol-based Diesel Lean-NOx CatalystIn Brazil you can buy ethanol or E93 (93-percent ethanol, 7-percent water) anywhere, but urea is hard to come by, so Tenneco is proposing a new lean-NOx cat that works using ethanol, E85 or E93. The catalyst, developed by GE Labs, uses silver and is priced on par with urea cats that use iron- or copper zeolytes. It operates in a temperature range between 260-550 C (500-1020 F) with efficiency curves like those of urea. The technology is ready to go and is currently being demonstrated in South America, awaiting a launch partner.